Martin Brundle questions Kimi Antonelli decision as he takes swipe at Red Bull

Martin Brundle took a swipe at Red Bull as he questioned Mercedes' decision to fast-track Kimi Antonelli into F1. The 18-year-old, a member of Mercedes' junior driver programme, was thrown into the team alongside George Russell after Lewis Hamilton's decision to leave for Ferrari.

Team boss Toto Wolff has incredibly high hopes for Antonelli, believing he has a similar ceiling to Max Verstappen, who also made his F1 debut as a teenager. However, it has been a tough season for the Italian since his excellent fourth place at the rain-affected season-opener in Australia. He has scored just one podium so far and sits seventh in the drivers' standings with fewer than half of Russell's points. His season hit a new low at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, where he fell in Q1 of grand prix qualifying before labouring home in 16th in the race.

His struggles have led Brundle to suggest Mercedes have put him in the car too early. However, the Sky Sports commentator and reporter acknowledged Antonelli does not have to live in fear of losing his seat like Verstappen's Red Bull team-mates often do.

Segio Perez was axed at the end of last season, with replacement Liam Lawson lasting just two grands prix before being dropped back to the Racing Bulls squad. His replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, has fared little better and is likely to be replaced for 2026. Various other Red Bull drivers have been ditched mid-season over the last decade.

Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column: "Kimi Antonelli is having a torrid time in the sister Merc. He's only scored points once in the last seven GPs [a podium in Canada] and it's not too difficult to observe that he's really feeling that pressure on his very young shoulders.

"He's lucky because he's effectively a protected species at the team and won't be living in fear of his career like a Red Bull youngster, but the summer break can't come early enough for him, I suspect."

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On whether Mercedes should have placed him in a lower-profile team, Brundle added: "I still wonder why they didn't give Kimi a couple of years to learn his trade in a lesser spotlight as they did with George Russell [who had three seasons at Williams].

"He's a generational talent, as my Sky colleague Nico Rosberg would say, but they can't let his head spiral."

Despite his struggles, Antonelli looks set to be kept on for 2026, with long-term Mercedes target Verstappen likely to stay at Red Bull for at least one more season. Verstappen's break clause from his Red Bull contract can no longer be activated after his fourth place in Belgium ensured the Dutchman will not be lower than third in the standings when the sport enters its mid-season shutdown.

Mercedes would now be forced to buy Verstappen out of his Red Bull contract, which runs until 2028, to sign him for next season at the expense of either Russell or Antonelli, who will be looking for a morale-boosting result in Hungary this weekend before the summer break.